photo by Bruce Garner
Quick work by Chattanooga firefighters saved an apartment building from being destroyed on Thursday afternoon.
At 4:30 p.m., the Chattanooga Fire Department sent nine fire companies to the Rise at Signal Mountain apartment complex at 1185 Mountain Creek Road, 1185 Mountain Creek Road.
The first firefighters on the scene reported light smoke showing from an apartment on the ground floor. As additional firefighters arrived on the scene, the first firefighters to arrive made entry into the apartment unit, found the fire in the kitchen, and extinguished the flames in under 10 minutes.
No injuries were reported. In getting the fire out so quickly, the firefighters succeeded in saving the other nine apartment units in that building from any fire damage.
The apartment damaged in the fire was home to two adults and two children. The mother and her infant child were home at the time. She told firefighters that her rice grinder malfunctioned and caught on fire, and from there the flames spread to the counter-top and walls.
A fire investigator says the burn patterns are consistent with the woman's description. The cause of the fire will be ruled accidental. The family did have renter's insurance, which is a requirement at this apartment complex.
photo by Bruce Garner